Means for removing soot



J. L. BREESE, JR

gEANS FOR REMOVINGSOOT Filed Nov. ,26, 1925 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 A TTORNE Y.

J. L. BREESE, JR

MEANS FOR REMOVING 5001 Filed Nov. 26, 19 23 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 QINVENTOR.

ATTORNEY.

May 1-7, 1927. 1,628,643 .1. 1.. BREESE, JR

MEANS FOR REMOVING 500T Filed Nov. 26, 1925 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 IN VEN TOR/Zwzs L 51955.52:-

A TTORNE Y. I

Pateiflesl May 17, 1927.

. UNITED STATES,

JAIESL. H11;

"PATENT OFFICE.

, m, OF CHICAGO, IL LINOIS, assmnon T OIL DEVICES OQBPORA- rron, orcnrcaoo, mores coarom'rron or ILLINOIS.

ms POB REMOVING SOOT.

a lication's November as: 192:. Serial No. 676,900.

The invention relates to means for removin soot and is dealt with inconnection with boilers, although the invention is not limited to thisparticular ap lication;

It is an,ob'ect of t e invention to movin the soot from boiler surfacesto which 1t adheres. v a 1 A further object of the invention is toprovide a novel method of soot or carbon removal from the interiorsurfaces of boilers. The invention also comprises a number of otherobjects which will be readily apparent from a perusal of the descriptionof the invention.

To the accomplishment of the objects stated and others which will a pearhereinafter, the invention comprises the method of and the means forremoving soot from boiler surfaces described in the following soification, particularly pointed out in t e c aims forming a partthereof, and illustrated in the drawing, in which,

Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of an oil' burning boiler to which myinvention has been applied.v

Figure 2 is a. front view of the boiler. Figure 3 is a rear view of theboiler.

Figure 4 is a longitudinal section and ele- 7 so vation of the boiler,the section being taken along the line 4-4 of Fi v1.

Figure 5 is an enlarged detail view.

Figure 6 is a deta section on the line 6 -6 of Figure 1. 85 F Figur; 71s a detail section on line 7-7 of igure 8 is a part section,-partelevation of a round boiler equipped with my invention and I Figure 9 isa development of a section taken on the line 9-9 of Fi' 8.

Referring to Figures 1 to inclusive, the boiler nerally designated by 10comprises a plurality of hollow sections 11 which have 48 the neraloutline of a triangle but with roun ed corners. 'Each section com risesan inner wall plate 12 which at one e ge is provided with a tongue 13and at the other end is formed with a groove 14 so that the 0 tongpe ofone plate extends into the groove of t 0 next plate and thereby insuresa hermetic fit. Opposite the inner wall is an outer wall 15 havingsynclinal panels 16 and 17.

rovide. new means or efiiciently and spee 11y re-' .spaces 24 betweenadjoinin The inner and the outer walls 12 and 15 are connected by sidewalls 18 and 19 which are formed with raised confi rations 20, as willreadily appear from igure 1. The interior of each section constitutes apassage for water which is heated by the flame produced by a burnerpositioned in the center of the boiler, but omitted from the drawing.The inner wall 12 towards the lower end is bent inwardly as at 21 andthen descends vertically to join the bottom 22 having a plurality oflegs 23 to clear the floor. .The inner wall 12 extends at both sidesbeyondthe side walls 18 and 19 and these rotruding portions stop at apoint 'slighti the center of the boiler whereby the intersections havecommunication with the interior of the boiler affording thereb a passagefor the hot com bustion gases w ch at the top oi the boiler divide andflow. downwardly through the spaces 24 and through openings 25 enter theflues 26. The sections 11 communicate with water heaters 27, 28 and 29,respectively, ar- I in the sections.

Asappears from Figure 4, a plurality of sections whose numbers may varyare provided with end members 33 which contain the water chambers 34.The front end plate has an opening 35 closable by a hinged door 36 andunderneath, is a sliding door 37 movable between horizontal uide rails38. To both sides of the sliding oor are hand holes closed by doors 39.The flue passages 26 communicate through apertures 40 with a flue drum41 from the center of which leads a riser pipe 42. In order to induce adraft, especial y upon startin the boiler, an opening 43' is provided inthe rear end plate 44 by means of which connection is established withthe riser 42 and thus a draft induced in the 11 per part of the boiler.

In or er to remove the soot adhering to y above s 60 flowing stream thruthe various casting 46 is arranged, which has .a longitudinal bore 47terminating at the inner end in a transverse bore 48 opening into theinterspaces 24 between adjacent sections 11. The connection between thebore 47 and the 9 pipe 45 is provided by a branch pipe 49 which isjoined to the pipe 45 by a T-fitting 50. Inasmuch as the water pipe 45isconnected with the various interspaces 24 between the sections 11, itis clear that water can be discharged into such interspaces to flush thesurfaces thereof.

To prevent the water from reaching the interior of the boiler, ba-flleplates 62 are provided, which deflect the water.

The water passing thru the spaces 24 can be drained at the bottom ofthe-flue passages 26 in any appropriate or preferred manner and as thisfeature is obvious, no illustration thereof is shown in the drawing.

In Figures 8 and. 9 a modified construction of a boiler is shown,comprising a plurality of superposed generally annular sections 51 heldtogether by bolts 52. The bottom section has a sliding door 53 and thesection immediately above the bottom section a door 54. The remainingsections of the boiler have 'no outer openings whatever. Each sectioncontains a water chamber 55 and the various sections are inter-connectedby vertical passages 56 arranged, however,

in staggered relation, as will readily appear by reference to thedeveloped sectional view shown in Figure 9. In order to provide meansfor cleaning the surfaces of the passages 56 on which soot deposits, thehorizontal pipe 57 extends into the upper section 51 and terminates in'the'annular depression 58 surrounding the upper end of the passage 56.'Watermay be introduced thru the pipe 57 and after the" water fills theannular groove 58 it overflows said groove and passes thru an apertaining flue 56 and thence thru the su jacent flues 56 tocollect inthe chamber 59 whence the water is drained 59 thru a valve controlledpipe 60. The purpose of conducting streams of water thru the variousflues 56 is, ,of course, identical with the purpose aimed at in removingthe soot from the interspaees 24 of the first described modification.

If desired, the cleanin of the flues 56 may be effected by intro ucingwater flew the pipe 60, suflicient quantities of'water being introducedto circulate an u wardly ue's 56. -After the water fills the variouspassages 56 and reaches the highest point, a three-way valve 61 in thepipe is turned so that the water and the soot carried by the water may66 drain throuerh a pipe 63. A. quantity of the soot will collect at thebottom of chamber 59 and a hand hole 64 afi'ords access to said chamberto permit removal of the soot.

n The use and operation of-my invention are as follows:

It is a well known fact that boiler efliciency is largely reduced by thedeposit or 'layer of soot or carbon which forms on the flue surfaces andwhich therefore reduces the absorption of heat from the gases ofcombustion by the heating medium. water, steam, vapor or air, which isemployed in the particular heating system in question. The layer of sootor carbon forms an extremely eflicient insulant and correspondinglyreduces the efliciency of the heating plant as the thickness of thecarbon layer increases.

I have found that a quick and efficieut way of removing this surfacelayer of carbon is to strip or float it off by applying water to thecarbon covered surface. I may trickle this water across the surfaces tobe cleaned, or I may fill the flue passages with water, or I may spraywater upon the flue surfaces. The principle of the method,however, isthe removal of the carbon not by the impact of the water but by theeffect the water has of stri ping or floating the carbon from the surace.

A peculiar advantage of my method, and of my apparatus, rests in thefact that it is easy to introduce water into the spaces and across thesurfaces to be cleaned, even though the conformation of the flues may beintricate, whereas it is extremely dilficult to obtain access to thepassages for brushing or for scraping or for blowing out the carbon.Since I employ not so much the impact of the water as the stripping orfloating effect which the water has, I do not need actually to squirt orspray the water directly against a given surface. It is sufficient if,whether by direct spraying or by the downward flowing of the water orspray or by the rise in level of the water introduced into the fluepassa es, the various soot or carbon covered sur aces are all exposed tothe stripping or floating action of the water.

Since my method and a paratus largely eliminate the necessityof iavingeasy access to the interior passa es of the furnace, I am able verysubstantially to simplify my furnace design and lar ely to eliminateexterior openings, specia doors, hand holes and the like, these 0 eningsbeing reduced to a minimum in bot number and size.

I have illustrated the application of my invention to two difierenttypes of boiler but it will be realized, of course, that I do not wishto limit myself to the use of my invention with these specific types ofboiler or with an specific boiler types, since In inventive i ea 1scapable ofa general application independent of minor or even of veryconsiderable changes in design of the particular furnace or boiler towhich it is applied. I

In the main it consists of providing agy suitable boiler or furnace withthe -necessary Water connections, or the apertures for inserting waterconnections, whereby water may be poured, or sprayed or introduced inany suitable manner into the flue passages. In order to maintain acircuit of fluid circulation and to avoid the flooding of the maincombustion chamber I may employ the structure shown in Figure 1 whichincludes the water pipes 45, a 'plurality of inlets from said supplypipes to the various flue sections, deflector ve1ns 62 to prevent thepassage of the water into the central combustion chamber, and run oilpassages of any suitable type for the withdrawal of the water from thebottom'of the flue passages.

In applying the same invention to the form of furnace or boiler shown inFigures 8 and 9 I admit the water through the pipe 57 and withdraw itthrough the pipe 60. Obviously I might reverse the. flow of the water,admitting it through the pipe 60 and withdrawing it through the pipe 57.The

pipe 57 bein lower than the edge of the uppermost 0% the annular boilersections, will drain the water before it can ever flow into and floodthe central combustion cham- Obviously my method may be practicedindependently of the structures herein shown, for example independent ofany fixed or permanent iping connection. For example if the mem ersshown in Figure 6 I were removed, water could be manually oured into theboiler of Figure 1 or could e introduced by means of any suitable pipeor hose.

I I claim:

1. In a boiler including a combustion chamber and flue passagesdownwardly extending from the upper portion thereof, means for cleaningthe interior walls of said flue passages, comprising means for flowingwater across said surfaces, and

means for clearing from said passages the water so admitted, and meansfor excluding the water so admitted from access to the combustionchamber.

2. In a boiler including a centrally dis posed combustion chamber and aplurality of circumferentially disposed revertible flue passages, awater connection for the upper portion of the flue system and a Waterconnection for the lower portion of said flue system, said connectionsconstituting means for inducing a flow of water through the flue system.

3. In a boiler including a combustion chamber and flue passagesdownwardly extending from the upper portion thereof, means for cleaningthe interior Wall of said flue passages comprising means for causing aflow of water downwardly through said passages and along said walls, andmeans, associated with the passages between combustion chamber andflues, for preventing the access of water from the flues to thecombustion chamber.

4. In a boiler including a combustion chamber and flue passagesdownwardly extending from the upper portion thereof, means for cleaningthe interior walls of said flue passages comprising means for causing aflow of water downwardly through said passages and along said walls, andmeans, associated with the passages between combustion chamber andflues, for preventing the access of water from the flues to thecombustion chamber, comprising overhanging flanges downwardly andoutwardly projecting thereover.

In witness whereof I alfix my signature.

JAMES L. BREESE, JR.

